Canada
Agriculture has always been one of Canada's largest industries. And although much of it is now mechanized to cope with the vastness of the country, temporary farm labor is often needed. While the pay never compares to that of the U.S., jobs sometimes go begging. You find the most promising situation in the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Ontario. "There is often a shortage of farm workers," writes a Winnipeg employment official. "We cannot always meet the employers' demand for dairymen, stockmen or farm couples." Paid volunteers are also wanted each September to harvest the fields of ripe blueberries in Nova Scotia's Cumberland County. No point in writing for details: just turn up in the towns of Amherst, Springhill, Pugwash, Parrsboro, or Minudie, and you'll probably get some work.
Where should you apply? And what does it take to get into Canada? Your best bet is to come as a visitor or tourist. You do not require a passport or visa for your border crossing. However, an American should carry identity papers like a birth, baptismal, or voter's certificate that proves citizenship. You won't get any flak at the border if you come as a normally dressed American. Bare feet, torn Levi's, or filthy T-shirts with obscene slogans arouse the staid Canadian inspector's suspicions. He'll inquire about the purpose of your Canadian visit. If you say that you're looking for work, he may send you back to a Canadian consulate in the U.S. An impoverished-looking hip may also be asked about his funds (one expert suggests that you carry at least $50). Finally, do not ask for trouble by carrying dope or anything that could be construed as a weapon.
You can also enter as a student. A "tourist" is expected to leave the country after six months, and a student after one year or after you're no longer in school. But a student who eventually graduates from a Canadian college definitely improves chances to remain in the country. Don't worry too much about work permits or such. A stay of a few weeks is too brief for the bureaucratic paperwork, and if you prove yourself to a farmer-and stay for some months -the employer can obtain the permit.
It's another matter, though, if you want to immigrate to Canada. You may consider buying, leasing, or operating a small farm in Canada. If so, you must enter as a "Landed Immigrant"; this allows you to stay permanently in the country. (It's too late to apply at the border.) Wise Americans do their homework first and get the necessary papers while still in the United States. A Canadian relative or sponsor helps to smooth your path.
Let's assume you're an independent applicant. You'll face an assessment system, made up of 100 units. You need 50 of these for acceptance as a Landed Immigrant. Up to 20 points can be awarded for your formal education or occupational training, and up to 15 points on the basis of the immigration officer's judgment of your adaptability, motivation, initiative, and other qualities. Additional units are awarded for fluency in French and English. Young people are favored. You get 10 points up to age thirty-five; after that you lose one for each year. If you want to establish a farm, you may be given up to 25 units if: (1) you bring sufficient financial resources to establish yourself; and (2) the immigration officer is satisfied that your plans have a reasonable chance of succeeding. A medical examination is also needed.
The Landed Immigrant paperwork should begin in the U.S. through a Canadian Government Immigration Service. There are three in the U.S.:
c/o Consulate General
680 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10019 310 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60604 1 Maritime Plaza, Golden Gate Centre
San Francisco, CA 94111
When the forms are completed, send them to Central Processing Office, P.O. Box 8040, Ottawa, Ontario. The process can take three to four months.
England
"We picked strawberries on a Scottish fruit farm", reports a girl from Ohio. "Other Americans are working on English strawberry and raspberry farms." If you talk to people who return after a summer in the British Isles, you invariably get positive feedback. Most of the berry pickers are under twenty and later spent a week or two exploring the high country. A young Coloradan, in a letter to his parents, described the mountain joys like this:
The British Isles are crowned by 4,406-foot Ben Nevis, in Scotland. But, what splendid rock climbing in the Highlands! Besides, there is ample terrain for hikers or 'hill walkers' as the British call them. The English Midlands and Wales thrive with opportunities for short or long 'rambles' across the hillsides. Space? The Pennine Way, for instance, goes on for some 250 miles, connecting Derbyshire with the distant Scots Cheviot Hills. In between, curvy paths wander across 2,000-foot elevations and down into flowered valleys. The Pennine Way's villages come with poetic names like Windy Gyle, and the hill walker can sleep in clean little inns with pubs.
Without fail, the Scottish and English people are polite and hospitable. Say what you will, England (or Scotland) is the best foreign country for Americans. If you can wangle seasonal work there-and you usually can!-you may be happier in the British Isles than in most other countries. No struggling with the French or Italian language. The British speak the most beautiful English in the world.
The climate is excellent, too. Forget the winter excesses of the Alps, and the Israel summers. Forget the weather terrors of New York. The British climate seems free from extremes, with average temperatures that range from thirty-eight to forty-five degrees Fahrenheit in winter and from fifty-eight to sixty-four degrees in summer. The average annual rainfall is between 33 and 50 inches, being fairly evenly distributed through the 12 months. England remains a small comfortable island that still hasn't ruined its hamlets with shopping centers or its hillsides with eight-lane concrete strips. The countryside remains lovely, with flower boxes outside many houses.
Seasonal farm-work is generally available for an American who doesn't think of money. Volunteers are sought in British-based international farm camps where you'll meet many Europeans. Demand for workers exists year after year; in fact, the British are probably better organized in using young farm labor than any other nation except Israel. You need no work permit or visa, just your passport. Expect to stay from two to six weeks and to work for at least six hours a day, mostly on berry farms. You're paid by the hour, or a piece rate fixed by the Agricultural Wages Board. Participants must be physically fit, of course. A small registration fee is usually required with the application, and you pay for food and accommodations. Minimum age? Normally seventeen, in some cases sixteen. (Few volunteers exceed the age of twenty-two.)
How do you get a seasonal summer job in England? Apply at least six months in advance. Season after season, the same camps turn up on the various European bulletin boards. Write a neat letter to the farm camp and enclose an international reply coupon for their answer. (You buy the coupon at any U.S. post office.)
If you happen to live in Europe or find yourself in London around January 1, you could also call on the following offices (apply in person):
National University Student Employment Office
3 Endleigh St., London, W.C.I World University Service
United Kingdom Council, 260 High Rd. London, N15 5 Quaker Work Camps
FSC Friends House, Euston Rd. London, NW1 4 International Voluntary Service
91 High St., Harlesden, London, NW10 Overseas Administration
Eland House, London, SW1E
You might also try applying by mail to the following camps:
International Farm Camp
Tiptree, Essex C05 OQ5 Lentran Fruit Farms Ltd.
Inverness-shire, Scotland Priory Farm Camp
West Walton, Wisbech, England
Germany, France, Switzerland
The opportunities in Germany and France-mostly in vineyards -were described in Chapter 2; many of the same addresses and leads will help you with general farm-work in these countries. But how about Switzerland? Some Americans feel intimidated by this small, super-policed Alpine country. The Swiss gendarmes make short shrift of U.S.-style stickup types. The Swiss jails await muggers, rapists, and other riffraff. No bail. And in recent years, the Swiss began to restrict the numbers of full-time foreign workers. This is done by (1) not giving a working permit, (2) not renewing it, or (3) not replacing you after you quit.
The above doesn't apply to transient farm youth, though. If you're prepared to put in eight to twelve hours a day at low wages -to work physically-you'll find an open farm door somewhere in this magnificent land. Switzerland still remains among the most beautiful countries in the world. The scenery warms hearts, soothes, unmakes homesickness. "I must drop everything and travel to Switzerland once more," wrote Mark Twain. "It is a longing, a deep, strong, tugging longing." The Swiss mountains rise with an incredible massive magnificence, up from tight valleys, up to snow-coated heights promising clean, fresh air.
Any American can visit for three months. If you want to extend your trip, you must report to the Immigration Office, which is also called the Police des Etrangers (police for aliens).
Officially, your permission to work (even part time) has to be obtained by an employer before you leave the U.S. In reality, though, farm jobs of a seasonal nature allow the Swiss employer to arrange your work permit.
Naturally, you must first find a job. There are several ways. Some young Americans visit the Swiss Farmer's Union (Bauern-verband) in Brugg; a small registration fee brings a seasonal placement in a farm. Young people have also been placed by Work Camps, Aktion 7, listed in the Zurich telephone directory. Two other valuable addresses:
Swiss Student Travel Office
Leonhardstrasse, Zurich Ecumenical Work Camps
150 Route de Ferney, Geneva
Your best bet might be to just canvass some larger Swiss farms in early summer. Ask the farmer, "Haben Sie Arbeit?" (Do you have work?). Don't expect anyone to speak English, and learn a little Swiss German before you begin your quest for a job.
Stephen C: A Swiss Farm Diary
Denver-born Stephen C, the wanderer who already detailed the French vineyards for us in Chapter 2, also spent a month on a dairy farm outside the little town of Maetzingen, near St. Gallen.
A husky twenty-one-year-old, he just "hiked from farm to farm" and asked for "Arbeit." He had no previous experience. Here is how he describes his day, the work itself, and the family he was to live with:
I am now a dairy farmer! I get up at 5:00 a.m. and fill the troughs of the passive horned creatures with crisp grasses. They are pre-milked and later secured to a sucking device which clasps each cow nipple. Then into the field. We are heaving wheat bales, hoeing sugar beets, working a suction device that loads the hay into twin silos. We plant celery seedlings. We clean the cattle stalls and pitch grass into the troughs before the cows return from the pasture.
The food is fantastic. At 7:00 a.m. I sit at a long family table and gulp milk from a porcelain bowl and cat slabs of rough bread with cheese and butter. At noon a prodigious Mittagessen is laid out. Soup, fresh salad, meats, potatoes. The whole Keller family eats together, from 84-year-old grandfather who also toils the full day in the fields, to great-grandsons with pink faces. Around 4:30 p.m. a hearty Abendbrot (dinner) is served. Then till 7:00 p.m. the cows must be milked and other work accomplished.
By 9:00 p.m. my body is wracked by exhaustion. But I adapt myself. A Swiss farmer's life is demanding. "Die Kiihc wartcn nicht bis auf Montag!" the grandfather informed me. ("The cows can't wait until Monday!") He is 84 years old; still rises at 5:00 a.m. to help clean out forty stalls and spread fresh straw. I saw him in the fields pulling a huge rake behind him. An amazing man! What health! And this Swiss octogenarian has such an excellent appetite! His ancient wife prepares our gargantuan meals.
I'm in bed by 10:00 p.m. The Maetzingen days are long. I earn only about $15 per day (in Swiss francs) plus room and board. At times I feel like an idiot for slaving twelve hours, considering the meager wages. Then I must think of the good food, how much I am learning, and how I meet the Swiss in their own territory. I'll never come this way again! Call me a miner who drills into the mountain during the day, and then refines the experience in the smelter of sleep. At dusk the pigs squeal. Strange birds cackle. In the early morning the cows moan with their extended udders. I have no reason to complain. Ah, to experience the rhythm of the earth! To probe all the possible frontiers on this planet!
Israel
If you happen to be Jewish, Israel can evoke an immediate and tremendous sense of involvement. To the Jews, it is the Promised Land, the homeland; with new immigrants-and seasonal workers -arriving by the thousands from the United States. Almost at once you sense Israel's national spirit, pride, idealism. Here is one country that aims to solve the historic problems of the Jews. Even the temporary worker senses this. And Israel is a human experiment for people of differing backgrounds. It is youth-oriented, optimistic, militaristic, energetic, cocky, healthy, sales-minded, bewildering, and ever devoted to the Zionist cause.
Young people have much going for them. The faces of Israeli teenagers tell an eloquent tale. Happiness. Especially in the kibbutz, the communal farm.
The Israeli Kibbutz
For the seasonal American back-to-the-lander, the kibbutz seems ideal. You might define it as an agricultural commune. These 300 super-organized Israeli farm settlements account for about 30 percent of Israel's agricultural production. A kibbutz may have anywhere from 50 to 2,000 people, with the average being 250 to 500. The farms vary greatly; some are sophisticated and urbane and even operate hotel facilities for tourists, complete with swimming pools. Others are primitive and sit in a hot barren country.
The kibbutz idea is unique to Israel, where it has been around for more than three decades. The kibbutz's positive side includes the variety of plans.
You can come in summer (when there are too many people) or in winter (when there are fewer). You can sign up for four weeks at a kibbutz, or for three months. Some North Americans even stay for a full year. During the summer, the minimum age is fifteen for "The Experiment in Kibbutz Living," a special youth program. Most temporary kibbutzniks are in their early twenties. Israel's communal farms want no one over thirty-five, except as a $-spending tourist. (This upper age limit says something about Israel's orientation toward youth.)
You're expected to work tremendously hard. Unlike in the United States, where anyone can quit or find excuses not to complete a rugged physical job, kibbutzniks must bite the farm bullet. The kibbutzim are not sexist, so women must also expect the sweaty, enervating, and often dull manual labor. You'll be out in the fields, the orchards, or the chicken coops. You may be picking oranges, apples, nuts, potatoes, or carrots, or grading fruit and vegetables for export shipments. Kibbutzniks plow fields, drive tractors, milk cows, spade the garden, work in construction, wash dishes, peel potatoes for three hundred persons. Inside it will be steamy; outside, excruciatingly hot. (Israel's inland climate may be compared to Arizona's; it seldom rains.)
Agricultural mechanization means that you may get greasy, and the fields get you dusty. And in any case, you must use your hands, which can be hard for the city-bred American or Canadian. A New Yorker who has been to Israel warns: "You cannot be fussy about the kind of work you'll be asked to do. It can be tedious, unpleasant, dirty, and sometimes boring, but it is important to be a good worker."
Another expert gives this advice: "You're going to the kibbutz with a high level of expectations. But your enthusiasm for the cause may not be returned. Thousands of temporary people like yourself have been employed. For you it is a first time and a new experience; for them, it is not. So don't expect everyone to be bubbly over your arrival."
Another visitor puts it this way: "You should understand that although you'll be accepted as a worker, recognition as an individual is much more difficult. Kibbutzniks know that most volunteers are temporary and don't seek close friendships with them."
The same sentiment is reflected by a former American summer visitor. "The people are cliquish; those who stay a short time will actually find a closed society. It's difficult to be integrated, especially as an American. But you will learn a lot. The younger and more resilient you are, the better."
Remember that no drugs of any kind (or marijuana) are tolerated. The use of LSD, cocaine, or amphetamines is considered a serious offense by the kibbutz elders. Many young Americans have been asked to leave kibbutzim for this reason.
Even if you sign up for only four weeks, be prepared. You'll have to put in eight hours a day, six days a week. Be committed before you arrive. Make up your mind not to compare the standard of living with that of the United States. Forget about such conveniences as air conditioners, automobiles, TV sets. Forget about privacy. Try to accept the fact that you had to pay for your flight to Israel, and that you only receive sometimes uninteresting food and just adequate accommodations in return for your work. (Repeat: You get no wages.)
The plusses? Your day off can be devoted to sightseeing. Or to exploring your surroundings.
An American kibbutznik-a non-Jew-describes some of these fringe benefits in a letter home to friends:
We're not far from the ocean. We get there on a bike after work. Late this afternoon, I cycled with a friend through this Biblical landscape: Eucalyptus trees, laurel and sycamore, palms, agaves, cacti. At the beach I saw the outlines, a mile away, of Roman ruins. The shore was deserted, despite the joys of sun and sky, of golden Israeli sands and the gentlest of waves. We pedaled across the moist ground for a few kilometers and then divested ourselves of sandals, shorts, and even our bathing suits. Not a human being from horizon to horizon. The water was perfect: the ocean-touched air neither too hot nor too cold. After the hard day in the fields, the water seemed refreshing. Hours to remember.
A stay at a kibbutz will often leave an indelible memory. What an adventure!
Israel isn't for every American or Canadian, though. This has nothing to do with whether you're Jewish or not; it concerns your personal philosophy and sensitivity. Israelis are nationalistic. Whatever you seek in their country-and peace treaties to the contrary -you'll be entering a potential war zone. American pacifists are unwelcome because Israel happens to be an armed camp.
At the airport, you're looked over by grim army types with machine guns. No one smiles. You see tough soldiers everywhere -in the muddy barracks, manning roadblocks, on the back roads, exercising, hitchhiking, or searching shoppers as they enter a store. Young Israeli women in khaki uniforms wear revolvers on their belts; young soldiers may board a bus with submachine guns. Everyone seems involved in the military situation, either as soldiers or as soldiers' relatives. Many people support the saber-rattling, and the holding on to won territories.
Total peace is not in sight. At eighteen, young girls as well as men are drafted for service (in noncombat roles). Even civilians (those who aren't on military duty at the moment) are affected. Children on frontier kibbutzim have slept in underground shelters-to protect them from the possible mortar attacks. The Israelis recognize and face these problems day in and day out. Over the centuries the area has had to defend itself against invaders on all fronts. As a result, the inhabitants tend to be militaristic. A military establishment always costs lots of money, and the Israelis pay and pay. (In the same sense, a big contribution in sweat is expected from the temporary kibbutzniks.)
Israel: Practical Information
You need a passport to enter Israel. Visas present no problems for Americans or Canadians. A "Visitor's Visa" allows you to stay for three months. Kibbutz volunteers must submit to a medical exam, to an in-depth interview, and in some cases, to psychological testing.
It is expensive to reach Israel. Shop for the best travel value you can get. El Al airlines, for example, has some disadvantages over U.S.-based charters, or flights originating from Europe. (Always check with air carriers about "student flights" or "student rates.") Among others, also consider the Laker Sky Train to London, or fly Icelandic to Luxembourg; from nearby Zurich, Switzerland, the Frei & Co. Travel Agency runs some astonishingly reasonable boat trips from Venice, Italy. Other travel arrangements will be offered by the U.S. Aliyah Centers. Compare rates with care!
Among the important U.S. and foreign addresses to get you started:
Kibbutz Aliyah Desk
575 6th Ave., NY 10011 Aliyah
6505 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 807, Los Angeles, CA 90048. (Other information centers can be found in the phone books of Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Miami, Philadelphia.)
Association of Americans & Canadians in Israel (AACI)
539 Hayarkon, Tel Aviv Israel Student Tourist Association
109 Ben Yehuda Street, Tel Aviv Travel Agency Frei & Co.
Rontgenstrasse 46, 8031 Zurich, Switzerland
Some International Travel Tips
A passport is necessary for most countries. Obtain it through the local post office of certain cities or an authorized courthouse by submitting proof of citizenship, usually your birth certificate, plus two passport-size pictures. (It takes about a month to get it.) The document is good for five years. An expired passport can be used to get a new passport, of course. You can also apply by mail. Write to the Passport Office, U.S. State Department, Washington, D.C. 20524.
The International Student Identity Card (1SIC) opens the way to many discounts. The purpose of the ISIC is to prove that the bearer is a bona-fide, full-time student. It's the most valuable form of identification, next to your passport. The ISIC is sponsored by the International Student Travel Conference, whose members include nonprofit student travel bureaus throughout the world. The card carries your picture and is printed in four languages. There are two versions: the student card for college and university students, and the scholar card for high school students. More than a million cards are issued worldwide each year. Write CLE., 777 U.N. Plaza, New York, NY 10017.
A Eurail pass entitles you to unlimited first-class rail travel in thirteen European countries. You can buy it only in the U.S. (Ask your travel agent.) If you are under the age of twenty-six, get the Student-Railpass, which entitles any full-time student to two months of unlimited second-class rail travel throughout thirteen countries of Continental Europe-all paid for in advance. You can travel over 100,000 miles of tracks that link cities, towns, and historic, scenic, and social attractions.
Lastly, think about leisurely, inexpensive freighter travel to any foreign part. Need more information? Write: Ford's Freighter Travel Guide, P.O. Box 505, Woodland Hills, CA 91365.
Bon voyage!
